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When we started developing our recently-released mini-strategy game 2 Planets, we wanted to add networked multiplayer support. Since the game is a side project and would be released for free, we didn’t want to spend much time and money on maintaining dedicated servers. Instead, we chose a simple peer-to-peer networking setup where both players would connect to the other player’s machine directly.

Setting up your own

You’ll need the following:

• The excellent HolePuncher Godot plugin and server by Cregg Hancock
• A server or service allowing you to host a small python application (e.g. Heroku or Vercel)
• Basic networking and server administration knowledge. Using a service like Heroku, you can get a python server up and running pretty easily, but you’ll still need some experience to configure everything correctly.
• An understanding of Godot’s multiplayer API for connecting clients using the IP obtained from the rendezvous server and synchronizing the game state.